§ 32. Mr. Woodsasked the First Lord of the Admiralty the number of lieutenant-commanders and lieutenants, ex-warrant officer, now serving who were promoted under the accelerated promotion scheme; the number who are likely to complete the necessary service for promotion to commander; and when the promotions to commander, which were part of the scheme, are to commence?
Lord StanleyThere are at present 27 lieutenants who were promoted under this scheme. These officers will not be eligible for consideration for promotion to commander until they have attained lieutenant-commander's rank, which the first of them should do in June next. It is likely that 19 of them will ultimately become eligible for consideration for promotion to commander. One shipwright lieutenant-commander promoted under the scheme was recently promoted to shipwright commander.
§ Mr. PalingCan the right hon. Gentleman state at what date the democratisation of the Navy is to take place, if these promotions go on at this rate?
§ 33. Sir Robert Youngasked the First Lord of the Admiralty the number of engineer officers who have qualified in the advanced engineering course in each year since 1931, and the number of these officers who were commissioned from artificers?
Lord StanleyAs the information involves a tabular statement, I will, with the hon. Member's permission, circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
§ Following is the information: 1138
| Officers who have qualified in the Advanced Engineering Course—1931 to 1936. | |||
| Years. | Total Number of officers who qualified in the advanced engineering course. | Number of officers included in column "B" who were promoted from Engine Room Artificer direct to commissioned rank. | Number of officers included in column "B" who were selected as Artificer Apprentices for commissioned rank. |
| (A) | (B) | (C) | (D) |
| 1931 | 6 | 1 | 1 |
| 1932 | 3 | 1 | — |
| 1933 | 9 | 1 | 1 |
| 1934 | 7 | 1 | — |
| 1935 | 6 | 1 | — |
| 1936 | 8 | 1 | — |
§ NOTE.—The officers in column "D" were promoted through the rank of Midshipman (E).
§ 36. Mr. W. Robertsasked the First Lord of the Admiralty what are the annual basic pay and allowances drawn by a non-specialist lieutenant-commander, aged 30 and unmarried, serving on a battleship or cruiser in the Home Fleet; and what is the average promotion to the rank of lieutenant-commander?
Lord StanleyThe basic pay of a non-specialist lieutenant-commander serving in a battleship or cruiser in the Home Fleet is as follows:
There are no allowances beyond the money allowance paid direct to the officers' mess in connection with their victualling. There is no differentiation between married and single officers. The average age for promotion to lieutenant-commander is just under 31, and only a small proportion of officers become lieutenant-commanders by the age of 30.
- Lieutenant-commander on promotion, 27s. 2d. a day.
- Lieutenant-commander after three years, 29s. a day.
- Lieutenant-commander after six years, 30s. 10d. a day.
§ 38. Sir R. Youngasked the First Lord of the Admiralty the numbers each year since the introduction of the new sub-lieutenant (E) scheme of promotion in 1933 who have been reported on the special form from the shore-training and other establishments and ships as likely to make suitable commissioned officers; and what has finally happened to these officers?
| Number of confidential reports on Engine Room and Stoker ratings in the years 1931–1937. | |||||||
| Year. | Number started during year. | Number terminated during year. | Number of ratings concerned promoted to commissioned rank during year. | Aggregate Number of reports continuing at the end of the year. | |||
| 1931–32 | … | … | 23 | 3 | 1 | 19 | |
| 1933 | … | … | … | 24 | 8 | 2 | 33 |
| 1934 | … | … | … | 13 | 14 | 3 | 29 |
| 1935 | … | … | … | 12 | 16 | 3 | 22 |
| 1936 | … | … | … | 24 | 8 | 4 | 34 |
| 1937 | … | … | … | 6 | 1 | — | — |
| 102 | 50 | 13 | 39 |
§ Confidential reports were terminated for the following reasons:—
| (a) Unsuitability of the rating for commissioned rank | … | … | … | 22 | ||
| (b) Passing over the age limit | … | … | … | … | … | 16 |
| (c) The rating concerned no longer being a candidate for promotion (e.g. on marriage) | … | … | … | … | … | 6 |
| (d) Two failures before a Selection Board | … | … | … | … | … | 3 |
| (e) Reasons unknown | … | … | … | … | … | 3 |
| 50 |
§ 40. Mr. Parkerasked the First Lord of the Admiralty the number of ratings who have been reported on the special form and who are qualified to be recommended for sub-lieutenant?
Lord StanleyFifteen seaman ratings have been reported on the special form and are qualified to be recommended for promotion to sub-lieutenant.
§ 41. Mr. Parkerasked the First Lord of the Admiralty why, seeing that lower-deck candidates for commissioned rank are reported to the Admiralty as soon as considered by their commanding officer as potentially suitable, and thenceforward the Admiralty and future captains under whom they may serve keep a careful watch on their training and development, so few candidates out of the total number actually obtain a commission?
Lord StanleyAs my right hon. Friend and I have previously stated, the Admiralty are at present conducting an investigation on this very point.